


Christmas Kisses

by ponfarts



Category: Almost Human
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-26
Updated: 2013-12-26
Packaged: 2018-01-06 04:43:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,927
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1102548
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ponfarts/pseuds/ponfarts
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Everyone deserves to have a Christmas, and to be kissed under Mistletoe.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Christmas Kisses

John was driving down the freeway. Well, driving was a one way to put it. He was actually stuck in traffic, and had been for the better part of an hour. He scanned through the radio, trying to drown out the multitude of blaring horns around him. There was nothing about wrecks coming across his radio, so he couldn’t help but wonder why things were so backed up.

There was a sharp ring from inside his jacket.

He grumbled, reaching inside his jacket for his phone.

“Kennex,”

“John, it’s Dorian. Have you gotten everything I asked for?”

“Yeah, but I still don’t understand why you wanted me to pick up Eggnog. I thought you didn’t eat?”

“I don’t.”

Silence.

“Then why did you ask me to buy some?”

“When will you be back?”

“Wha- soon. I’m stuck in traffic. Look, I don’t know what you’re up to, but I -…” Dorian cut him off.

“It’s the holidays, John, and statistics show that some 13,000 people lose their lives in car accidents every year around this time. Drive carefully.”  
John started to say something, but it was too late, Dorian had already hung up.

———————————————

John was back at his apartment, shaking off a light dusting of snow from his jacket. He held the bag of groceries in his arm as he fished in his pocket for his key. Before he could get them, the door opened.

“You’re back.”

“Well, yeah. I do live here, where else would I go?”

Dorian flashed a smile. He held out his hands to take the bag from John, who gladly handed it over and pushed his way inside, slipping off his jacket.

“Eggnog, and gingerbread. I had no idea you celebrated…” John hadn't noticed it at first. All the green and red and gold. But there it all was, decking his apartment, like some sort of cheesy greeting card, come to life. “…Christmas.”

Dorian stepped in front of John, beaming that bright smile. “Surprise.” Dorian glanced back, admiring his handy work. “It was hard getting everything together without you noticing, but I believe I have everything right.” John blinked, looking back to Dorian.

“You did this?”

Dorian canted his head, staring at John. “I know you aren't big on the holidays.” John gave Dorian a look, arching his eyebrow.

“But I thought this year could be different. I've been told that this is the merriest time of the year.” He paused, waiting for some kind of reaction, but his face remained stoic. “Everyone deserves to be merry on Christmas.”

That did it.

John blinked, looking around his apartment once more. There was garland hanging on the walls, draping the windows, and even wrapped around the legs of the stools in the kitchen.

There were bells and wreaths and holly covering everything else that wasn't touched by the garland. And in the center of it all, standing some ten feet tall, if John had to guess, was a Christmas tree. It was decked with an array of ornaments that glistened the the fluorescent light.

"Do you like it?"

John chewed on his lip. He didn't not like it, that was one thing. He allowed himself a small smile, letting the tired lines be erased from his face.

"It’s great, man. Really great. And you did this all by yourself?"

Dorian beamed, and John noted that it sent a shiver up his spine to see such a bright, human, smile on the android's face.

"Detective Stahl helped, she allowed me to borrow some of her decorations."

"Some?" Mental note, Detective Stahl was big on Christmas, apparently.

Dorian moved into the kitchen, setting the bag on the counter and taking out the small carton of Eggnog. Reaching into the cabinet above, he pulled down two glasses, pouring a small serving in each. He carried them back to John, extending one of the glasses.

He took it with a nod, noticing the one in Dorian’s hand.

"I thought you didn't eat."

"I don’t, as I said before. I just thought it’d be appropriate to partake in the social custom of sharing a drink with a friend."

John watched as Dorian’s cheek flickered blue for a moment.

"A toast then," John lifted his glass, Dorian mimicking his motions. "To, uh… friends and being merry… yeah." He cringed inwardly.

_That sounded terrible._

"To friends." Dorian clinked his glass against John’s, raising it to his lips and taking a small sip. John watched him curiously, opening his mouth to speak.

"I said that I don’t eat, not that I can’t." Dorian looked into the glass. "This is an… interesting substance."

John chuckled, downing his in one gulp. “Don’t like it?”

"Not particularly. I suppose if I were human, I would say that I find the texture to be very displeasing. I apologize for asking you to spend your money on this."

"No harm, I actually like the stuff with the right amount of Rum." John took Dorian’s glass from his hand. The bot brushed his fingers against the inside of John’s wrist as he took it, which drew John’s eyes to Dorian’s steely grey ones. There was something in his eyes that made John’s heart skip a beat.

Dorian's cheek was flickering blue again.

"Your heart rate has increased, John."

He slipped his hand away from Dorian. He carried the glasses to the sink to rinse them out.

_Calm down._

He willed himself to take a few deep breaths, something that one of his therapists taught him to do to when he felt a panic attack coming on.

He pressed his palms flat to the counter, rolling his shoulders back with one last deep breath.

John turned back around, and when he did Dorian was standing in front of him. Dangerously close in front of him. John took a step back, trying to gain some distance between them. But he didn’t get far, bumping into the counter behind him. He heard himself inhale sharply, hands curling around the counter top.

_Why was his face still flickering blue?_

"John, my sensors indicate that your vitals are fluctuating rapidly, and your pupils have become significantly dilated."

John took a shaky breath, holding Dorian’s steely stare. His eyes cut right through him, hitting him in his core and unnerving everything that made him what he was.

That’s how it was. That’s how it always was.

Dorian was always watching John, unsettling him and uprooting his foundations. Unstitching him at his seams.

But it was something John had come to appreciate. He always brushed it off to Dorian watching and learning, but it some how made John feel… important. He never caught Dorian watching anyone but him, but over time the lingering glances began to change, shifting into lingering touches: on the hand, shoulder, and to the bot standing closer than necessary.

John tried to play it off. To not think to much about it. But now, in the close confines of his kitchen, he couldn't stop himself. He couldn't control the race of his heart, the adrenaline pumping through his veins that was amping up his fight or flight instincts, and right now, he wanted nothing more than to fly.

Running was what John did best, mostly away from his problems, and a massive problem was staring him down in his own home.

"John?"

"What?"

Dorian blinked, reaching out to John. “I asked you what’s wrong. I’m sensing a rise in your adrenaline levels, as well as an increase in your blood pressure.” Dorian laid his hand on John’s arm and the bot didn’t miss the shiver that ran the length of his body.

Seconds of tense silence passed

Until…

"I understand now."

_Shit._

John shook his head, bringing himself back to reality. “There’s nothing to understand, man.”

"I disagree."

Dorian took another step toward John, sending his stomach into a tizzy. Dorian was close enough now, that if he could breathe, John would feel it.

"Look, whatever you’re, uh… thinking, you've got it wrong." John wanted to edge his way past Dorian, but that look of his kept him rooted in place.

"I arouse you, John."

John sputtered and stammered, looking anywhere, at anything, other than his partner. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

"I believe you do." Dorian ran his hand up John’s arm, feeling him tense beneath him. "Whenever I touch you, John, there is a slight irregularity in your heart beat. I've been noticing it for a while now. What is that phrase humans use?"

John swallowed hard. “Skipping a beat.”

_Shit, shit._

"That’s that one."

"What’s your point?" John grumbled, shooting Dorian a glare.

"I make your heart skip a beat."

"Don’t flatter yourself, bud."

"I don’t."

John turned to protest, but before he could, Dorian was turning his face toward his and pressing his lips to John’s.

When Dorian pulled away, his face was flickering blue once more and John was, well, breathless.

"Elevated blood pressure, shortness of breath, rapid heart rate and other evident signs of arousal."

There was no getting around it now.

John was silent. There was a knot in his throat that he couldn't get words past. He dropped his gaze, shifting his feet. He didn't want Dorian to be right. But he was.

That damn android was right.

"You knew?" John’s faced was flushed, his façade of being untouchable torn down.

"Yes."

"All along?"

"Not at first; it took sometime for me to understand exactly what was happening to you when I began noticing how you reacted."

John nodded, running his tongue over his lips.

"What now?"

Dorian’s lips twitched up into the slightest hint if a smile.

"With your permission, I would like to do that again."

John chuckled, shaking his head. “It’s not as if you asked for it the first time.”

"In that case," Dorian took John’s face in his hands, holding him still as their lips met again. This time, John let a moan slip from his mouth, reaching up to lay his hands over Dorian’s.

John felt himself relaxing, leaning into Dorian. The feel of the android's lips on his own felt like nothing John had ever felt before. Nothing like he imagined, either. They were soft, like a human’s, but they lacked that one thing that made them human. They were cool, fitting against John’s perfectly.

John slipped his hands to Dorian’s neck, pulling him closer. But Dorian pulled away, gaining a groan of protest from John.

"Why’d you stop?"

Dorian blinked. “I was monitoring your vitals. I indicated that you needed to breathe.”

"Right," John huffed, taping the side of his face. He leaned his head back, dropping his hands to Dorian’s arm. He let his eyes close, knowing that Dorian was watching him, monitoring him. When he opened his eyes, he stared up at the ceiling.

"Dorian… what is that?"

Dorian looked up, following John’s gaze.

"Mistletoe. Is it not a custom during the holiday season to hang it up in hopes of kissing someone?"

John’s brow furrowed, turning his attention back to his partner. “You planned this.”

There was no physical smile, but John saw the one that touched Dorian’s eyes.

"There is no way I could have calculated the probability as to where would be the best place for me to hang it."

"So you just guessed?"

Dorian tilted his head, his cheek blinking blue. “In layman’s terms? I suppose so.”

John hesitated, eventually shaking his head with a sigh. He leaned forward, pressing his lips to Dorian’s, feeling the android's mouth twitch under his in a smile.

"Good guess."


End file.
